Oregon State Board of Trustees approves $1.3 billion budget

June 05, 2018

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University Board of Trustees Friday approved an operating budget of $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2019 to support university teaching, research and community engagement activities while investing in strategic university initiatives.

The overall operating budget projects revenue growth of 4.3 percent, and growth in expenditures for personnel services and supplies and services and transfers out to other funds of 4.2 percent.

OSU President Ed Ray said the budget will support the university’s strategic priorities to provide a transformative educational experience for all learners; demonstrate leadership in research and teaching in OSU’s signature academic and research areas; and strengthen the university’s impact in Oregon and globally.

The budget will focus investment in strategic OSU initiatives, including:

Student success;

Faculty excellence and support investments;

Additional research laboratory space and facility improvements;

Capital building renewal and repair to address deferred maintenance issues;

Continued growth of the OSU-Cascades campus, including the addition of new faculty;

Support for the development and operation of expanded OSU programs in the Portland region;

Public safety services; and

Faculty and staff compensation and benefits.

In other business, the board:

Endorsed a request for the 2019-2021 biennium that the university has submitted, with the other six public universities, to the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which is responsible for providing biennial funding recommendations to Oregon’s governor. The seven universities seek at least an additional $130 million for operational expenses to cover increased costs of operation and to shield students from paying the costs of increased PERS rates; increased funding for the statewide public services that the university provides through OSU Extension, and its 14 Experiment Stations and the Forest Research Laboratory. As well, the recommendation seeks to fund fully the state of Oregon’s Outdoor School program.

Amended the board’s process for approving tuition and fee increases. The board’s policy now anticipates that OSU’s annual tuition rate will increase between 2 and 5 percent, barring large external factors such as changes in state funding.

Updated the terms of President Ed Ray’s employment contract to reflect prior salary increases and to clarify retirement and sabbatical leave provisions.

Held a discussion regarding the university’s Strategic Plan 4.0, which presents the mission, vision and strategic goals and actions for the university for the next five years. A final version of the plan will be presented to the board in October.

About Oregon State University: As one of only two universities in the nation designated as a land, sea, space and sun grant, Oregon State serves Oregon and the world by working on today’s most pressing issues. Our more than 31,000 students come from across the globe, and our programs operate in every Oregon county. Oregon State receives more research funding than all of the state’s comprehensive public universities combined. At our campuses in Corvallis and Bend, marine research center in Newport and award-winning Ecampus, we excel at shaping today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders.

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